The present invention relates to a portable ice maker and container. More particularly, the present invention relates to a receptacle for use in the production and storage of ice cubes, including a cylindrical container having at least one coiled strip contained therein, and with the coiled strip having a plurality of transverse segments for use in forming ice cubes.
In the manufacture of ice cubes for use by consumers in the home as well as in restaurants and other similar environments, there has been a need for additional ice making capacity in a unit having a compact configuration and with the ice cubes when formed being easily releasable and readily available for use.
By the present invention, there is provided an ice maker and container having the above mentioned features, being of a convenient shape and configuration so as to utilize available freezer space or other similar water freezing environment and to provide substantial additional ice cubes for use in the home or other location. The ice maker and container of the present invention is advantageously formed in a cylindrical bucket-like shape, and with a plurality of horizontal layers of coiled strips being stacked in the container for use in defining the ice cube configurations. Adjacent coiled strips are separated by a flat plate member and each coiled strip is provided with a series of transverse planar fins or ribs at intervals along the length of the strip for use in defining the shape of the individual ice cubes.
In one embodiment, the transverse fins are of increasing length as measured outwardly from the coiled strip, from one end of the coiled strip to the other. The inner end of the coiled strip is provided with an interlocking flange member to assist in maintaining the strip in the coiled configuration.
The present invention is distinguished over the freezing container as described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,807,587 to Copeman, wherein a tray with vertical partitions is disclosed, but without the coiled strip for defining the ice cubes as in the present invention. The present invention is also distinguished over the receptacles as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,955,044 to Tupper, wherein a coiled strip with ice cube-containing receptacles is disclosed, but without the features of the invention whereby ribs are attached transversely to a coiled strip, said ribs together with a portion of the coiled strip defining a series of vertical enclosures, open at the top, for receiving water which is frozen to form ice cubes.